Flexible Stays is a powerful feature that helps you maximize your property's earning potential by opening up calendar gaps that would normally remain unbookable. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to activate and use Flexible Stays effectively.

What Are Flexible Stays?

Flexible Stays allows you to make bookable the nights shown in purple on your calendar—gaps between existing bookings that your current minimum-stay rules or fixed check-in and check-out settings would normally prevent guests from booking. By activating this feature, you capture short-stay demand you'd otherwise miss without having to change your standard property settings.

This means during peak seasons, when over 20% of searches are for short stays, you won't lose potential revenue from guests who want fewer nights than your usual minimum requirement.

How to Activate Flexible Stays

You can activate Flexible Stays from two locations in your Holidu account. Both methods achieve the same result, so choose whichever is most convenient for you.

Activating via the Discounts Section

1. Log in to your Holidu account and select the property you want to update.
2. Click on "Configuration" in the left-hand menu.
3. Scroll down and click on "Discounts".
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Flexible Stays section.
5. Click on "Configure".
6. Choose your preferred minimum stay length (1, 2, or 3 nights) for the gap period.
7. Set your price per night, which can be increased up to 50% above your standard nightly rate.
8. Click on "Activate" to confirm and enable the feature.

Activating via the Calendar Section

1. Log in to your Holidu account and navigate to your property's calendar.
2. Click on any purple indicator to identify a gap night.
3. Choose your preferred minimum stay length (1, 2, or 3 nights) for the gap period.
4. Set your price per night, which can be increased up to 50% above your standard nightly rate.
5. Click on "Activate" to confirm and enable the feature.

Key Benefits of Flexible Stays

Implementing Flexible Stays offers several advantages for your hosting business:

• More Bookings: Short-stay nights become bookable during high-demand periods, capturing guests who prefer shorter vacations.
• Better Visibility: Over 20% of peak-season searches are for short stays, and Flexible Stays helps you tap into this significant market segment.
• More Reviews: Every new booking is another opportunity to receive guest feedback, which builds credibility and helps your listing rank higher.
• Higher Ranking Potential: Maintaining bookable calendar gaps supports your property's performance in search results and algorithmic rankings.
• Less Manual Work: You don't need to manually adjust your calendar for each individual gap—the feature handles it automatically while preserving your standard settings.

Important Things to Keep in Mind

Before using Flexible Stays, understand how this feature interacts with your existing property settings:

• The feature only affects calendar gaps where your current settings would normally prevent bookings.
• Flexible Stays overrides your minimum-stay and short-stay settings exclusively for these gap periods.
• Check-in and check-out flexibility applies to any day for these special gap bookings.
• Once a guest books a Flexible Stay, the special pricing and stay rules apply only to that specific booking period.
• Flexible Stay bookings appear tagged in your calendar so you can easily identify them.
• You can deactivate this feature at any time by returning to the same configuration menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I exclude certain dates from Flexible Stays?

Currently, activating Flexible Stays applies the feature to all gap nights that match your configured settings. However, you retain full control by manually blocking any specific dates you don't want to open for bookings. Simply block those dates in your calendar as you normally would, and they won't be affected by Flexible Stays.

Do guests see the purple gaps on my calendar?

No, the purple gap indicators are visible only to you in your host dashboard. Guests see the availability status on your listing, but they don't see the internal calendar view or the purple markers. These visual indicators are designed solely to help you identify opportunities where Flexible Stays could help you capture bookings.

Can I change my Flexible Stays settings after activation?

Yes, you have complete flexibility. You can update your minimum-stay requirements, adjust pricing, or disable Flexible Stays entirely at any time. Simply return to the same configuration menu (either through Discounts or Calendar sections) and make your desired changes. This gives you the ability to adapt your strategy based on seasonal demand or changing business needs.

What pricing strategy should I use for Flexible Stays?

You can increase your nightly rate up to 50% above your standard price for Flexible Stay bookings. Many hosts use this to maintain revenue despite shorter stays. Consider your local market demand and seasonal patterns when setting your Flexible Stays price—during peak season, slightly higher pricing may still attract guests seeking short stays, while maintaining your profit margins.

How do Flexible Stay bookings appear in my calendar?

Flexible Stay bookings are clearly tagged in your calendar, making them easy to distinguish from your regular bookings. This helps you track which bookings are using your standard settings and which are Flexible Stays, giving you valuable data to evaluate the feature's effectiveness for your property.